One main subject of this part of our
Lord’s prophecy is the taking of Jerusalem by the Romans. That great event
took place about forty years after the words we have now read were
spoken. A full account of it is to be found in the writings of the
historian Josephus.

Those writings are the best comment on
our Lord’s words; they are a striking proof of the accuracy of
every title of his predictions. The horrors and miseries which the
Jews endured throughout the siege of their city exceed anything on
record: it was truly a time of tribulation, so as was not since the
beginning of the world

It surprises some to find so much
importance attached to the taking of Jerusalem: they would rather regard the
whole chapter as unfulfilled. Such persons forget that
Jerusalem
and the temple
were the heart of the old Jewish dispensation. When they were
destroyed, the old Mosaic system came to an end. The daily
sacrifice, the yearly feasts, the altar, the holy of holies and the
priesthood were all essential parts of revealed religion, till
Christ came—but no longer. When he died upon the cross, their
work was done: they were dead, and it only remained that they
should be buried. But it was not fitting that this thing should be
done quietly. The ending of a dispensation given with so much
solemnity at Mount Sinai might well be expected to be marked
with particular solemnity; the destruction of the holy temple,
where so many old saints had seen “﻿shadows of good things to
come,﻿” might well be expected to form a subject of
prophecy: and so it was. The Lord Jesus specially predicts the
desolation of “﻿the holy
place.﻿” The great High Priest describes the
end of the dispensation which had been a schoolmaster to bring men
to himself.

But we must not suppose that this part of
our Lord’s prophecy is exhausted by the first taking of
Jerusalem. It is more than probable that our
Lord’s words have a further and deeper application still. It is
more than probable that they apply to a second siege of
Jerusalem, which is yet to take place when
Israel
has returned to
their own land; and to a second tribulation on the inhabitants therefof,
which will only be stopped by the advent of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Such a view of this passage may sound startling to some. But those
who doubt its correctness would do well to study the last chapter
of the prophet Zechariah, and the last chapter of Daniel. These two
chapters contain solemn things: they throw great light on these
verses we are now reading and their connection with the verses
which immediately follow.

It now remains for us to consider the
lessons which this passage contains for our own personal
edification. These lessons are plain and unmistakable: in them at
least there is no darkness at all.

For one thing we see that flight from danger may sometimes be the positive duty of a Christian. Our Lord himself commanded
his people under certain circumstances to “﻿flee.﻿”

The servant of Christ undoubtedly is not
to be a coward. He is to confess his Master before men; he is to be
willing to die, if needful , for the
truth. But the servant of Christ is not required to run into danger
unless it comes in the line of duty. He is not to be ashamed to use
reasonable means to provide for his personal safety, when no good
is to be done by dying at his post. There is deep wisdom in this
lesson. The true martyrs are not always those who court death and
are in a hurry to be beheaded or burned. There are times when it
shows more grace to be quiet, wait, pray and watch for
opportunities, than to defy our adversaries and rush into the
battle. May we have wisdom to know how to act in time of
persecution! It is possible to be rash as well as to be a coward;
and to stop our own usefulness by being over hot as well as being
over cold.

We see for
another thing that in delivering this prophecy our Lord makes
special mention of the Sabbath. “﻿Pray ye,﻿” he says,
“﻿that your flight be not ˆ on the Sabbath
day.﻿”

This is a fact that deserves special
notice. We live in times when the obligation of the Sabbath upon
Christians is frequently denied by good men. They tell us that it
is no more binding on us than the ceremonial law. It is difficult
to see how such a view can be reconciled with our Lord’s words on
this solemn occasion. He seems intentionally to mention the Sabbath
when he is foretelling the final destruction of the temple and the
Mosaic ceremonies, as if to mark the day with honor. He seems to
hint that although his people would be absolved from the yoke of
sacrifices and ordinances, there would yet remain a keeping of
a Sabbath for them
(﻿ Hebrews 4:9 ). The friends of a holy
Sunday ought carefully to remember this text. It is one which will
bear much weight.

We see for
another thing that God’s elect are always special objects of God’s
care. Twice in this passage our Lord mentions them. “﻿For the elect’s sake the days of
tribulation are to be shortened﻿.” It will not be
possible to deceive the “﻿elect.﻿”

Those whom God has chosen to salvation by
Christ are those whom God specially loves in this world: they are
the jewels among mankind. He cares more for them than for kings on
their thrones, if kings are not converted; he hears their prayers;
he orders all the events of nations and issues of wars for their
good and their sanctification; he keeps them by his Spirit; he
allows neither men nor devil to pluck them out of his hand.
Whatever tribulation comes on the world, God’s elect are safe. May
we never rest till we know that we are of this blessed number!
There breathes not the man or woman who can prove that he is not
one. The promises of the Gospel are open to all. May we give
diligence to make our calling and election sure! God’s elect are a
people who cry unto him night and day. When Paul saw the faith,
hope and love of the Thessalonians, then he knew their election of
God(﻿1 Thessalonians 1:4 ; see also
﻿ Luke 18:7 ).

Finally we
see from these verses that whenever the second advent of Christ
takes place it will be a very sudden
event. It will be “﻿ As the
lightning coming out of
the east﻿” and shining even to the west.

This is a
practical truth that we should ever keep before our minds. That our
Lord Jesus will come again in person to this world we know from
Scripture. That he will come in a time of great tribulation; we
also know; but the precise period, year, month, day and hour are
all hidden things. We only know that it will be a very sudden
event. Our plain duty then is to live always prepared for his
return. Let us walk by faith and not by sight; let us believe on
Christ, serve Christ, follow Christ, and love Christ. So living
whenever Christ may return we shall be ready to meet
him.